Happy Xmas (War is Over)
by scoutfinches
Summary: A cutesy post-program Christmas fic, also featuring Satan Abraham's oc, Andrea. (And don't forget The Beatles. :3 Get in the holiday spirit, yo!)


The snow was drifting through the New York wind; footprints were becoming covered on the streets below.  
>It was Christmas morning. No one was out in the town that day.<br>The record player was spinning in circles; neither if them could contain themselves anymore. The mostly small packages around the tree were exciting them beyond belief.  
><em>"We're so lucky to have this", Shuya thought, as he looked at the measly little Christmas tree in their living room. "I'm still thankful.."<em>  
>Noriko was also admiring the tree. It had few ornaments and stood at three feet tall.<br>"Merry Christmas." She hugged him and kissed his cheek.  
>Shuya smiled at her. "Merry Christmas." He replied and kissed her cheek as she had for him. "I love you." He held her closer.<br>Noriko laughed. "Me too!"  
>The song was playing in the he background; brining a even more joyful tone to the morning.<br>_ "Long years ago, on a deep winter night. High in the heavens, a star shone bright..."_  
>Then they walked over to the tree together. Hand in hand.<br>The multicolored lights of the tree shined on their skin and each of them picked a present from the floor.  
>"Ladies first!" Shuya told Noriko. She grinned and slowly unwrapped the small rectangular box in her hands. When the paper fell to the floor, her mouth opened wide.<br>"You didn't have to!" It was a necklace. A rose quartz crystal, one she always had her eye when they walked past the crystal booth on the way to school.  
>"Yes, I did." He put down his larger box to hold her. "I saw how you looked at it.. And I knew I had to get it for you."<br>"Thank you.." She beamed and held the necklace by it's silver chain.  
>He took the necklace and put it around her neck. "There." He squeezed her shoulders. "You look beautiful." He kissed her cheek once again and went to open his gift.<br>Noriko watched her boyfriend eagerly, hoping he would like what she made for him. It was probably the most sentimental of the presents. Maybe, the most expensive of them all. She even worked a few extra shifts at the flower stand for the supplies.  
>"Whoa!" He sat the large canvas in front of him to admire it at the different angle.<br>It was obviously a painting. It was a cherry blossom tree, a reminder of their home country. A big, lithe brown tree was on the left edge of the painting. On the entire top side, bright, light pink blossoms were in view. A few of the blossoms cascaded down across the canvas, going along the sides of two people.  
>Those people were them, who were holding hands, walking down a stone pathway.<br>"It's amazing!" He let his finger glide across the tree. Then, he saw the signature on the bottom. Her initials, written in the dialect of two different languages. He knew it hadn't even been two years yet. They were still adjusting.  
>Noriko only observed him, letting him take in the painting a little more. "Thank you so much."<br>Lyrics were already manifesting in Shuya's head. That feeling always brought excitement to both of them. "Do you have any nails?" He asked her. "This needs to go on the wall, now."  
>Noriko laughed. "Maybe one. If we're lucky. You can look in the kitchen if you want." She sat her hands on her lap. "Where would you put it?"<br>"On the left wall." She looked at the wall. It, like the rest of the place, had yet to be painted. It was dreary and a little grimy, like a cheap apartment in New York always was. And being as poor as they were, it was impossible to fix anything.  
>"That sounds good." With that, he grabbed her hand and rushed her to the kitchen. In the designated drawer, there was one last nail. Along with the hammer. (Which somehow, Shuya was able to afford.)<br>Noriko took one of the the chairs from the table and put it against the wall for Shuya to stand on.  
>"I better make this nail count..." Shuya placed it on the wall and held out his hammer.<br>Then, he hit to he wall, almost plugging the nail in too deep. Noriko handed him the painting, which he hung on the wall slightly unevenly.  
>He got down from the chair and scooted it away from the wall. They backed away from it to get a better view.<br>It made the dirt on the wall fade away, it was beginning to look like _their_ home.  
>The other elements weren't theirs. The missing cabinet door in the kitchen fell off when the last tenant stayed. The scratches on the bathroom walls were from the woman before the last tenant. The water damage on the ceiling was caused by the landlord.<br>_ The painting was theirs._  
>After they looked at it for a few minutes, they went back to the tree. They realized they still had things left underneath it.<br>He let her open her box first again. It was larger than the other one, but not by much. He knew she liked poems and that she liked to write. It was something he knew before they we taken to the island. It was a fact all forty other teens knew, before they looked into the eyes of the reaper.  
><em> Poetry was her talent.<em>  
>In her hands was a book of poetry. Poe, Dickinson, Frost, and even Silverstein. It was a complication of the American greats. More than twenty of them, right in her palms.<br>Noriko held the book close to her face and skimmed the pages. She took in the new book smell and the newness of the book itself. All of these poets were forbidden overseas; she had never read them before.  
>In the back of the book, he wrote her a message. It was pretty simple, as he saved the big stuff for his songs.<br>_XOXO, Shuya._  
>"This means so much to me." She at the book down. "I'd feel stupid to say thank you again."<br>"No, you're not." He picked up a skinny, square package. "I think it's fine to be thankful for what we have. We're both lucky..."  
>Shuya sighed. "Think about it. Just for a second."<br>Think about what happened caused Noriko's eyes to widen. The sound of newspaper ripping caused her thoughts to cease.  
>"How did you know about this?" Shuya looked at the vinyl record in awe. Despite his excitement about it, he never told his girlfriend once. He was wary, if anything.<br>"Andrea told me about it... I had to buy it when you were off work.. And I had to hide the painting at her house."  
>The record was a Beatles album, the only one they didn't own before. It was the White Album. It had cost so much, he didn't dare ask her about it. Double vinyls were almost fifty dollars a set. He really decided he'd rather not bring the burden upon Noriko's shoulders. Whether he paid for it or not.<br>"She did? I told her not to!"  
>"Well, she did. I spoke to her about the holiday a few weeks ago.. That we never celebrated a Christmas before."<br>He put the album with the others and went back and sat closer to her. "We are now. And listen, we're going to make the best of it." He kissed her cheek like he had plenty of times that day. To phrase it better, that _Christmas_ Day.  
>Noriko opened another box. It was small like the others had been. It was twenty dollars. Shuya told her she could buy anything she wanted with the money. Obviously, he said he didn't know what she wanted other than what he had given her already.<br>Still, she was thankful. Before he opened his last gift, she promptly told him that it was just a few pairs of socks. She had no clue what else he wanted either. She never came across the idea he had of giving her money.  
>"You know what, I actually needed these! Thank you!"<br>She noticed he had gone barefooted with his shoes a few times to go to work that week. Maybe, it was better off that way.  
>After cleaning up the mess of newspaper, they played the holiday record again.<br>"What do you want to do today?" Shuya questioned her, as he sat down on the couch.  
>"There's nothing to do! Everything's closed.. It's Christmas. They don't open anything here on Christmas."<br>Noriko reminded him of their lives in their home country. On that very day on the other side of the world, every store and sweatshop still operated as normal. Only a few people displayed poinsettias as spirit, if anything. They still went to school and they still did homework. The Program was still going on in other regions. It was was just a plain, bland, normal day.  
><em>"So, this is Christmas and what have you done? Another year over, and a new one just begun."<em>  
>"Not the Chinese restaurants!" Shuya shouted. "They're part of our country, of course not!"<br>Noriko was starting to laugh. "Let's go, then!"  
>They slept in quite late, it was lunchtime anyway. So, they grabbed their winter coats and boots and ran out of their apartment.<br>_ "And so this is Christmas, I hope you have fun. The near and the dear ones,_  
><em>the old and the young."<em>  
>Down the street, they ran. The people few outside stared; the homeless, the underprivileged workers, the poor.<br>"A very merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Let's hope it's a good one, without any fear."  
>Their footprints disappeared behind them as they neared their destination.<br>_ "And so Happy Christmas. For black and for white, for yellow and red ones._  
><em>Let's stop all the fight."<em>  
>They saw their rapid breaths in front of their faces, but they kept running further.<br>_"War is over if you want it, war is over now"_  
>They arrived in front of the closest Chinese restaurant in town. As Shuya had told her, it was open for business. Not only that, but their friend Andrea was alone at a table inside.<br>When they went in, they sat at a table with her. The smile on her face made both Shuya and Noriko realize what Christmas was truly about.  
><em> Christmas isn't just about religion. It isn't just about presents. It's about our friends and family. It's about love.<em>  
><em> "War is over, now..."<em>


End file.
